City Council Preview: New Safeway and Employee Cuts

Workers' Cuts

City council members will vote on a 5 percent salary and benefit reduction for Millbrae sanitation workers and police officers. 

The agreements, which would cover July 1 through June 30, 2012, would save the city nearly $200,000 combined, according to city reports. 

Police officers would contribute 5 percent of their salary toward their pension, forfeit the city’s contribution to their Retiree Health Savings Account and give up 11.5 hours of holiday pay, among other concessions.

Full-time sanitation employees would be required to take 88 hours of furlough this fiscal year and all raises would be frozen.

Safeway Redevelopment

Council members will also vote on approving the Safeway remodeling project. , city council asked Safeway representatives to consider hiring local unionized workers, and did not approve the project because of several traffic congestion and pedestrian safety issues.

Safeway has compiled an extensive study on the traffic patterns and their effect, as well as pedestrian accessibility. It has also met with Bill Nack, business manager of the San Mateo Building Trades Council on June 17 and July 12 to discuss the project’s hiring practices. Safeway will consider any competitive project bids regardless of union or non-union labor, according to Millbrae staff reports. Safeway pledges to ensure adequate communication to all union and non-union workers in the bidding process. Nack could not be immediately reached for comment.

Fire Merger

City Council will vote on moving forward with the Fire Merger Implementation plan between the fire departments of San Bruno, Millbrae, and Central County Fire, which servers Burlingame and Hillsborough. approved the merger last week, and San Bruno will vote on the plan tomorrow night.

Under the pilot program, fire officials will close two stations in the hills, Station 35 and 38, respectively, and will build a new one on Trousdale and Hunt Drive in Burlingame. The Millbrae Fire Department estimates an annual savings of $374,520 if the station closure becomes permanent.

The meeting will be broadcast live on Millbrae Community Television.

Click Here for the meeting agenda.

Zach Stahl contributed to this report.